Thursday evening January 12

Preparation

Opening response

Favor us, Lord, and deliver us.Lord, come quickly and help us.

From the rising of the sun to its settingyour glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,our light and our salvation,to you be glory and praise forever.You gave your Christ as a light to the nations,and through the anointing of the Spirityou established us as a royal priesthood.As you call us into your marvelous light,may our lives bear witness to your truthand our lips never cease to proclaim your praise.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,so may your mercy come down upon usto cleanse our heartsand set us free to sing your praisenow and forever.Amen.

Hymn

A Fountain of Life and Grace

Charles Wesley

A fountain of life and graceIn Christ, our Redeemer we see:For us, who his offers embrace,For all, it is open and free.

Jehovah himself doth inviteTo drink of his pleasures unknownThe streams of immortal delightThat flow from his heavenly throne

As soon as in him we believe,By faith of his Spirit we take,And, freely forgiven, receive,The mercy for Jesus’ sake!

We gain a pure drop of his love,The life of eternity know;Angelical happiness prove,And witness a heaven below

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Almighty God,patient and of great goodness:I confess to you,I confess with my whole heartmy neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;the hurts I have done to others,and the good I have left undone.O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;and raise me to newness of life;through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

May the God of love and powerforgive us and free us from our sins,heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 61

Refrain:You are my refuge, O God, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.

God, listen to my cry; pay attention to my prayer!When my heart is weak, I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth.Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am because you have been my refuge, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.Please let me live in your tent forever! Please let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings!Because you, God, have heard my promises; you’ve given me the same possession as those who honor your name.Add days to the king’s life! Let his years extend for many generations!Let him be enthroned forever before God! Make it so love and faithfulness watch over him!Then I will sing praises to your name forever, and I will do what I promised every single day.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:You are my refuge, O God, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.

Psalm prayer

Risen Christ,as you knew the discipline of sufferingand the victory that brings us salvation,so grant us your presence in our weaknessand a place in your unending kingdomnow and forevermore.

Psalm 65

Refrain:Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!

God of Zion, to you even silence is praise. Promises made to you are kept— you listen to prayer— and all living things come to you.When wrongdoings become too much for me, you forgive our sins.How happy is the one you choose to bring close, the one who lives in your courtyards!We are filled full by the goodness of your house, by the holiness of your temple.In righteousness you answer us, by your awesome deeds, God of our salvation— you, who are the security of all the far edges of the earth, even the distant seas. You establish the mountains by your strength; you are dressed in raw power. You calm the roaring seas; calm the roaring waves, calm the noise of the nations.Those who dwell on the far edges stand in awe of your acts. You make the gateways of morning and evening sing for joy.You visit the earth and make it abundant, enriching it greatly by God’s stream, full of water.You provide people with grain because that is what you’ve decided.Drenching the earth’s furrows, leveling its ridges, you soften it with rain showers; you bless its growth.You crown the year with your goodness; your paths overflow with rich food.Even the desert pastures drip with it, and the hills are dressed in pure joy.The meadowlands are covered with flocks, the valleys decked out in grain— they shout for joy; they break out in song!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Shout joyfully to God, all the earth!

Psalm prayer

May the richness of your creation, Lord,and the mystery of your providencelead us to that heavenly citywhere all peoples will bring their wealth,forsake their sins and find their true joy,Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament readingGenesis 3

The snake was the most intelligent of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say that you shouldn’t eat from any tree in the garden?”

The woman said to the snake, “We may eat the fruit of the garden’s trees but not the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘Don’t eat from it, and don’t touch it, or you will die.’”

The snake said to the woman, “You won’t die! God knows that on the day you eat from it, you will see clearly and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was beautiful with delicious food and that the tree would provide wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then they both saw clearly and knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made garments for themselves.

During that day’s cool evening breeze, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God in the middle of the garden’s trees. The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

The man replied, “I heard your sound in the garden; I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree, which I commanded you not to eat?”

The man said, “The woman you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

The Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?!”

And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.”

The Lord God said to the snake,

“Because you did this, you are the one cursed out of all the farm animals, out of all the wild animals. On your belly you will crawl, and dust you will eat every day of your life.I will put contempt

between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers.They will strike your head, but you will strike at their heels.”To the woman he said,

“I will make your pregnancy very painful; in pain you will bear children.You will desire your husband, but he will rule over you.”To the man he said, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and you ate from the tree that I commanded, ‘Don’t eat from it,’cursed is the fertile land because of you; in pain you will eat from it every day of your life.Weeds and thistles will grow for you, even as you eat the field’s plants; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread— until you return to the fertile land, since from it you were taken; you are soil, to the soil you will return.”

The man named his wife Eve because she is the mother of everyone who lives. The Lord God made the man and his wife leather clothes and dressed them. The Lord God said, “The human being has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” Now, so he doesn’t stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever, the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to farm the fertile land from which he was taken. He drove out the human. To the east of the garden of Eden, he stationed winged creatures wielding flaming swords to guard the way to the tree of life.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingMatthew 22:1-14

Jesus responded by speaking again in parables: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding party for his son. He sent his servants to call those invited to the wedding party. But they didn’t want to come. Again he sent other servants and said to them, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, the meal is all prepared. I’ve butchered the oxen and the fattened cattle. Now everything’s ready. Come to the wedding party!” ’ But they paid no attention and went away—some to their fields, others to their businesses. The rest of them grabbed his servants, abused them, and killed them.

“The king was angry. He sent his soldiers to destroy those murderers and set their city on fire. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding party is prepared, but those who were invited weren’t worthy. Therefore, go to the roads on the edge of town and invite everyone you find to the wedding party.’

“Then those servants went to the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding party was full of guests. Now when the king came in and saw the guests, he spotted a man who wasn’t wearing wedding clothes. He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he was speechless. Then the king said to his servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet and throw him out into the farthest darkness. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.’

“Many people are invited, but few people are chosen.”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

With all my heart I glorify the Lord!In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favoredbecause the mighty one has done great things for me.Holy is his name.He shows mercy to everyone,from one generation to the next,who honors him as God.He has shown strength with his arm.He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.He has pulled the powerful down from their thronesand lifted up the lowly.He has filled the hungry with good thingsand sent the rich away empty-handed.He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,remembering his mercy,just as he promised to our ancestors,to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.

Luke 1:46-55

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offeredfor peacefor individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The unity of the churchThe peace of the worldThe healing of the sickThe revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hiddenAll who travel

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, by your SpiritBring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Eternal Father,who at the baptism of Jesusrevealed him to be your Son,anointing him with the Holy Spirit:grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever.Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.Amen.